Method of forming stout welting



April 28, 1953 y L. H. GEMME 2,636,196

METHOD OF FORMING STOUT WELTING Filed Nov. 8, 1947 Ira/enter Leora 17. Gem we 957% zwmfi xi At t uy Patented Apr. 28, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF FORMING STOUT WELTING Leon H. Gemme, 'Worcester, Mass., assignor to L. Farber Welting Company, Worcester, Mass, a corporation. of Massachusetts Application November 8, 1947, Serial No. 784,832

This invention relates to welting and particularly to stout welting for use in the manufacture of shoes.

Stout welting usually consists of two plies-of welt strip which may economically be made from a single fillet strip, which will fit snugly into the welt crease and around the upper in the vicinity of the welt crease, which will afford a tough anchoring portion through which the welt thread passes and yet which will not be hard and resistant to the passage of the needle.- Other objects are to provide a welt strip which will be durable, attractive, easy to apply and to conform to the contour of the outline shoe as well as to the upper.

Accordingly the composite welt strip includestop and bottom strips adhesively secured to--- gether flesh side to flesh side with their grain sides exposed. One of the longitudinal edges of the composite strip is flat and the other includes a shoulder and a subjacent lip projecting laterally therefrom, the lip being formed entirely of integrated fleshy portions of the two strips. The

fleshy portions of the lip comprise a bluntly' tapering" edge face of the lower strip tapering toward its grain surface over which lies and is adhesively secured a sharply tapering feather projecting laterally from the lower portion of the edge face of the top strip. The upper portion of the edge face of the top strip constitutes the shoulder and is fleshy. In an alternative form there is a laterally extending grain lip projecting from the top of the shoulder which is bent down over the edge face thereof therebyproviding a grain shoulder. The shoulder, whether of flesh or grain, is adapted to engage the upper adjacent to the welt crease while the lip is adapted to project into the welt crease to form a snug fit. The upper surface of the lip is devoid of grain being entirely fleshy and hence affords a good surface towhich cement may be applied for adhesively securing the lip in the welt crease while the shouldermay be flesh-or grain as de-- The of the 2 Claims. (Cl. 12-146) sired. In the underside of the lip there is a stitch-receiving groove extending through the grain layer into the flesh thereby eliminating the hard horny grain layer which opposes passage of the welt sewing needle and the welt thread and yet affording a tough anchoring portion for the welt stitching.

'As illustrated, the shoulder may extend downwardly toward the lip as a gently sloping concave surface to merge with the surface of the lip or it may extend downwardly as a vertical orreentrant flat surface intersecting the lip at an obtuse angle. The lip slopes away from the shoulder, that is, outwardly therefrom and may be convex or flat. An important aspect is to" have these surfaces ofthe shoulder and lip conform closely to the contour of the upper in the vicinity of the welt crease. The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of a fillet divided longitudinally by a cut extending through the fillet from the grain side to the flesh side along a curved line;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of a composite welt strip assembled from the parts procured by dividing the fillet as'shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of a fillet divided longitudinally by two straight cuts intersecting at an obtuse angle,-

one extending inward from the grain surface and the other from the flesh surface; Fig. 4 is 'a perspective view of one end of a composite welt strip assembled from the parts providedby dividing the fillet as shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of a fillet divided longitudinally by two straight cuts which intersect at an acute angle, one extending inwardly from the grain surface and the other from the flesh surface;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of a composite welt strip assembled from portion of a fillet divided by a cut entering through the grain surface and extending below the same and substantially parallel thereto and an intersecting curved out such as that employed in Fig. 1 to produce a grain flap;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one end of the composite welt strip assembled from the parts provided by dividing the fillet as shown in Fig. '7;

Fig.9 is a perspective viewof a fragmentary portion of a fillet divided by a cut entering through the grain surface and extending below the same and substantially parallel thereto and the intersecting cuts illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. is a perspective view of'one end of a composite welt assembled from the parts provided by dividing the. fillet as illustrated in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of'a fragmentary portion of a fillet divided by a cut entering through the grain surface and extending below the same and substantially parallel thereto. and.

the intersecting cuts illustrated in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of one end of .a. composite welt strip assembled from the parts provided by dividing the fillet as shown in Fig; II. Referring to Fig. 2 there is :showna. composite welt strip IB commonly called a stout welt, which is composed of top and bottom strips I21 and t4 adhesively secured together throughout their length. The strips t2 and I4 are cut from a fillet [6, Fig. 1, which has parallel top, and bottom surfaces .Iiiand vZIlaiid parallel edgesizz and 24.. The top. surface isjgrain and the-bottom: and edge surfaces. are flesh. The; fillet is. divided approximately midway between its parallel edges by a curved incision or cut 26 which extends through from thegrainsurface substantially vertically downward into the body of the-fillet and then laterally and downwardly in a: smooth-curve to and through the bottom surface. The two" strips thus formed each has afiat longitudinal edge. The opposite longitudinal edge of; the strip I2 has a substantially fiat edge face extending substantially vertically downward from the grain surfacev from which there projects in a smooth curve a sharply tapering feather 28. The complementary longitudinal edge of the strip M has a bluntly tapering edge 30 which is inclined toward its grainsurface; When: the strips I2. and i4 have been separated the strip I4 is turned over about its longitudinal axis so as tobring its top. or grain, surface I 8' on the bottom. and then the strip I2: is, superimposed onthe strip I;4- so that the; bottom or: flesh. surfaces of. the strips I-2 and Mara in engagement. Ad.-

hesive; is applied to one: or: both of theiflesh, surfaces and they are caused to adhere by suitablepressure and/or heat to. form a composite welt strip having; top and bottom grain surfaces; It and spaced longitudinal edge faces: 32 and: 34 the generatrieeszof which arejparallel. The composite edge 32 is flat., being constituted by the flat edges 2-2 and 24, and forms the exposed outsole attaching portion of the wait stripin the completed shoe. The. opposite. composite edge 34 has, by reason of thespecial shapes.- imparted to the divided welt strips, an. upright shoulder 36 which projects substantially vertically downward from the grain surface anda laterally projecting, downwardly sloping subjacentv lip 38 with which. it merges. in a smooth reverse curve. The lip is formed by bendingv the; feather. 28- downwardlyover the bluntly tapered edgeface-- and securing it thereto and will be slightly convex. The entire surfaceof the lip andshoulder is devoid; of grain. A stitch groove 40 is out in the underside of the strip I4 through the. grain beneath the: lip,.that is,. in the tapered portion 30, to accommodate the welt stitching and to permit the welt needle tov pass through the lip portion without having, to pass through the hard horny grain layer.

- The aforesaid. composite welt stripmay bemade.

up, as shown inFigs. 3-and4; by dividing thefillet Hi along a line 26. consisting of; a. vertical cut 42 extending vertically downwardly from the top grain surface into the body of the fillet and then along an inclined cut 44 extending downwardly to and through the flesh surface, the incisions being made so that the surfaces formed thereby are flat and intersect at an obtuse angle. As thus formed one longitudinal edge of each strip is; flat. The opposite longitudinal edge of the strip: I2? has a: flat edge face-'extending-substantially vertically downward from the grain surface from which projects a sharply tapering wedgeshaped. feather 28, the tapering surface of which in contrast to the previously described welt strip is flatrather than curved. The complementary 'Iongitudinaledge;ofthe strip I4 has a flat portion and, a beveled portion forming a bluntly tapered edge face 30, tapering toward the grain surface. When the strips [2 and I4 have been separated the: strip I4, as in the prior case, is inverted by turning it about its longitudinal axis and the strip. I2. is superimposed thereon so that a composite weltstripisfcrmedhaying. top and bottom grain surfaces I8 and spaced longitudinal edge. faces 32 and 34 the. generatrices. of" whichare parallel. The composite. longitudinal edge 32- constitutes the outsole. attaching. portion of the welt strip. The composite longitudinal edge 34; inthis caseis comprised of a downwardly extending vertical shoulder 36- and a. downwardly in-- clined lip 38,. the surfaces being fiat-and inter.- seating at an obtuse angle. The lip a. com-- posite of the tapering. feather 28- and, beveled. edge 36. of the top and bottom strips I-Z-and I4 respectively, the feather being bent down into. engagement with and securedto the; beveled portion of the. edge. 30. As. in they prior. instance. both the shoulder and liparedeyoid of. grain.

The. composite welt strip may also be made. up by making the incision 26, Fig. 5,, from thegrain surface I8. of the fillet downwardly into the-body thereof along an inclined line 46- and then along a second oppositely inclined line 48, the. plain surfaces formed by theseinclined. cuts meeting; at. substantially a right. angle. As thus formedv each of, the welt strips has a. flat. longitudinal edge- The, opposite edge. of the strip I-Z has a. reentrant flat face extending downwardly and. inwardly. from. the. grain. surface. from which projects outwardly asharply tapering feather 2 8. The. complementary edge. of the strip- M has; a. bluntly tapering edge 36 formed by oppositely inclined intersecting flat. surfaces tapering from! both the grain and flesh surfaces. When the. stripsv li and I4.- areassembled as shown in Fig. 6, the shoulder 36 will beinclined inwardly toward the composite, longitudinal edge 32 and the -lip 38 will be inclined outwardly away from. the edge 32. The lipis formed by bending the feather downwardly and securing, it to the inclined surface of the. edge 30. Again the. shoulder and lip are entirely flesh. The usual. stitch-receiving groove. Illis provided in theunderside. of the strip I4 The feature thatv is common. to the composite welt strips which. are described above is that in eachone the shoulder.- andthe. lip are entirelyflesh. leather, that the lip is comprised of in-- tegrated. fleshy portions of both. the top and bottomstrips and that the relationship between. the. surfaces of the shoulder and lip are such as to cradle the upper in the vicinity of the welt crease. and to afford support for the same.

A somewhat modified construction of the two-- ply welt strip is shown in Figs. '7 to 12. In. this form the compositeweltstrip: I0, Fig. 8, is, composed of two strips. 5;!)- and 5.2, these. being formed by dividing a fillet 54 along a line 56 consisting of a cut 58 extending inwardly through the grain surface 60 at the top to just below the same and then substantially parallel thereto and a cut along a smooth curve similar to the incision 25 of Fig. 1. Each of the strips has one flat longitudinal edge. The opposite longitudinal edge of the strip 52 has an intermediate edge face substantial vertical to the grain surface from which projects at the top a substantially uniformly thick grain flap or flange b t and spaced therefrom at the bottom a sharply tapering feather or flange 66 the tapering surface of which is smoothly concave. The intermediate edge face intersects the inner surface of the flap substantially at right angles. The complementary longitudinal edge 68 of the strip 52 is beak-like in shape having a flat surface and a convex tapering surface. The strip 52 is inverted, that is, turned about its longitudinal axis and the strip 58 is superimposed thereon and adhesively secured thereto with the feather or flange 66 bent downward overlying the convex surface of the beak 6B. The flap or flange 64 is bent downward overlying the intermediate edge face of the top strip. As a result a composite welt strip is formed having spaced parallel edge faces in and 12 the generatrices of which are parallel. The longitudinal edge l2 includes a shoulder M which extends downwardly substantially vertically in a gentle smoothly flowing concave surface and a laterally extending subjacent convex lip 75. The shoulder 14 and lip 16 merge in a reverse curve the former being adapted snugly to engage the upper in the vicinity of the welt crease and the latter being adapted to project into the welt crease. In this form of the invention the grain flap or flange t l which forms the surface of the shoulder is folded down toward the lip but terminates short of the laterally projecting portion thereof. This provides a grain surface for engagement with the upper. The lip 16, however, as in the previous welt strips, is entirely flesh, being constituted solely by the feather 66 and beak 68 of the top and bottom strips. A stitch-receiving groove 18 is formed in the underside of the strip 52, this groove extending inwardly from the bottom surface through the grain layer. It is to be observed that the provision of the flap 64 on the strip 50 removes a corresponding amount from beneath the strip 52 so that the under portion of the lip is recessed and devoid of grain inwardly as far as the stitch groove.

In Figs. 9 and a similar composite welt strip I0 is shown as made up by dividing the fillet along the line 56, Fig. 9, consisting of a substantially horizontal cut 58 entering through the grainsurface and extending beneath the same and parallel thereto. a vertical cut 8! and an inclined cut 82. In this case the composite welt strip has a substantially verticle grain covered shoulder M and an inclined flesh lip 16, these surfaces intersecting at an obtuse angle. The usual stitch-receiving groove 13 is formed in the underside of the lower strip.

Figs. 11 and 12 show a composite welt strip Ht made by dividing the fillet along a line 56,

Fig. 11, consisting of a cut 58,made through the grain surface of the fillet and substantially parallel to the top thereof, an angular cut 84 inclined toward one edge and an angular cut 85 inclined in the opposite direction. When the two strips are superposed the composite welt has a reentrant grain shoulder E i and an inclined lip 16 sloping away from the shoulder. As in the previously described composite welt strip of Figs. 8 and 10 there is provided a stitch-receiving groove 58.

The features which are common to the composite welt strip disclosed in Figs. '7 to 12, inclusive, are that each has a grain shoulder and a flesh lip and that the relationship between the surfaces of the shoulder and lip are such as to cradle the upper in the vicinity of the welt crease and to afford support for the same.

By constructing the composite welt strip, as described above, a wholly satisfactory stout welt may economically be manufactured from a single width of fillet without sacrifice of appearance or constructural features which make it suitable for shoe manufacture.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of forming two unit welting which comprises forming a bottom strip with a portion of reduced thickness along one edge and with the upper surface of said portion inclined downwardly, forming a top strip with vertically spaced flanges along one edge thereof, with the upper flange constituting a continuation of the upper surface of the top strip and the lower flan e constituting a continuation of the lower surface of the top strip, superimposing the top strip upon the bottom strip so that the lower flange of the top strip is in registration with the inclined upper surface of the portion of reduced thickness of the lower strip, bending the lower flange of the top strip upon the inclined upper surface of the portion of reduced thickness of the lower strip and adhesively uniting one to the other, and bending the top flange of the top strip down upon the adjacent edge surface of said strip and adhesively uniting said flange thereto.

2. The method according to claim 1 in which the edge surface of the upper strip between the flanges is formed to provide a re-entrant shoulder to which the upper flange is bent down and adhesively united.

LEON H. GEMME.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,708,628 Lyon et al Apr. 9,1929 2,219,947 Vizard Oct. 29, 1940 2,233,563 Vizard Mar. 4, 1941 2,414,249 Vizard Jan. 14, 1947 2,427,984 Vizard Sept. 23, 1947 2,470,942 Quimet May 24, 1949 

